Fergie on Sunday: I'm not quitting... Fergie on Wednesday: I quit! Fergie plays mind games until the end

Sir Alex Ferguson's final mind game came courtesy of his
programme notes for the Chelsea match on Sunday.

The retiring Manchester United manager appeared certain
he would be in the dugout for the defence of the Premier League title, saying
he had 'no plans to walk away' from the team he speculated would go on to
achieve 'something special' under his stewardship.

He did, however, hint that such plans could be 'tripped
up' by unforeseen circumstances – probably a playful nod to his imminent
departure.

Mind games: Alex Ferguson insisted he was staying in programme notes for Chelsea game

What can be sure is that Ferguson had made up his mind to
step down from his 27-year reign when these comments were published. They can
now be viewed as simply a smokescreen.

It is not the first time in his career public utterances
have been soon followed by a contrary turn of events.

Ferguson's column in the Chelsea programme three days ago
read: 'This team of champions is not going away – we are here for the long
ride!

'We will get better and if we apply ourselves in our
normal fashion I see our 20th league title as nothing but the start
of another decade of success.

'Whether I will be here to oversee another 10 years
remains to be seen, but I certainly don't have any plans at the moment to walk
away from what I believe will be something special and worth being around to
see!

'It's always difficult in football to be absolutely sure
of the future because the game has a habit of tripping you up, but I don't live
in a fantasy world and believe we have every reason to feel confident about the
future of Manchester United.'